


Rolling with the Punches

by AnnieBoBannie



Series: Of Lace and Leather [2]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Bin's a tough boi, Idk how to write fighting?, Just a lil bit of violence, M/M, MJ and Jin Jin are pretty much just mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2019-10-19 20:19:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17608238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieBoBannie/pseuds/AnnieBoBannie
Summary: Moon Bin often found himself in situations. He had no idea how he got in those situations. As he grew up he learned to roll with the punches and go with the flow. He accidentally became the head of a gang? Whatever, that's cool. He became friends with the two most annoying people in his gang? He can deal with that. His jerk of a BFF lied to get him on a date with the hottest guy in school? He felt bad, but he wasn't going to skip out on that opportunity.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmygosh!it'sanewstory!!! Literally a miracle. Also, like, a sequel people have been wanting, which makes it 100x scarier to post. But! I've finally gotten a pretty good start on the story! So I'ma upload the first two chapters!

        “Come on! You really expected that to work?” Moon Bin spit, a small speckle of blood hitting the ground. “If you wanted a fight, you could've just asked. Coming up to me and punching me was _totally_ unnecessary.” The kid in front of him furrowed his brows and Bin laughed. He was a small time bully, guilty of only stealing small amounts of cash from other students. The exact opposite of Bin. Bin popped his knuckles and rolled his shoulder, stepping closer to the bulky kid. “Now, you've earned yourself a _beating_ .” He whispered, grabbing the collar of his cheap leather jacket. “And when we're through, you'll give me all of your “hard-earned” money. And after that! You're going to start giving me monthly payments,” Bin shrugged his shoulders and grinned, “for my _generosity_.”

        “Ha! I ain’t afraid of nobody.” The kid laughed, shoving Bin backwards. “Not you or your crew.” He puffed up his chest, thick arms crossing in front of his chest. "Nobody can beat me."

        “You have no reason to be afraid of my crew, they're under my watch. Me, on the other hand,” he snorted and took another small step forward, face splitting into a Cheshire grin, “you should be _more_ than afraid of.” The kid opened his mouth to respond and Bin made his move. The kid had too much fat and muscle around his abdomen for a kick to be of any good, but Bin was easily able to jam his thumb into the left of the kids adams apple, right in the tender area of the neck. The feel of air being cut off pulsated in Bin's hand as he pulled away, stopping only when the kid collapsed to the ground under Bin. He was gasping and holding at his throat, face turning a pale shade of pink.

       Bin stopped and waited, watching as the kid choked and coughed, slowly catching his breath. When he finally caught his breath and he wobbled to a kneeling position, he was furious, muttering curses. Bin grabbed a fistful of the bully's hair and smashed his knee into the guys face, the unpleasant sound and feeling of his nose crunching being followed by a stream of blood. When Bin let go of his hair he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

       “Take all he's got.” Bin commanded, rolling his shoulder once more. “Actually! Leave him one dollar reminding him of his new fee. That sounds like a good touch. Very dramatic." Bin nodded his head in an attempt of looking wise, before checking his phone and wincing, "I've got to get to practice or Rocky will kill me.” Bo and Ki, his right hand men, laughed, stepping out of the alley behind Bin.

       “You're one crazy S.O.B, Bin.” Ki scoffed, looking at the passed out kid, edges of his uniform crinkled and dirty in the dust.

       “I can't believe you still do absolutely everything that kid wants.” Bo scoffed. “For a leader, you’re pretty weak.” Bin winked and grinned dumbly, only his top row of teeth showing before he left for Tae Kwon Do. “He's actually an idiot. I thought he would’ve been normal.” Bo huffed but Ki shrugged, bending down to start rifling through the bullies pockets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short, and the next chapter is also short, but I promise they get longer. This whole story is longer than I planned, because even when I create a plot for me to follow it turns out WAY longer than I mean for it to. Oh well.   
> This first chapter is pretty weird. The next chapter is also pretty weird. Give it three chapters then you can tell me if you hate it. ^^  
> Idk why, but Binwoo is like, the hardest pairing for me to write, out of all pairings. Ughhh. Whatever.   
> <3 Absey


	2. Maybe Taekwondo-n't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin and Rocky at Taekwondo, and Bin and his newfound gang life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2!! Technically chapter 1, but shhhh. Honestly, could still be a part of the prologue.

        “So what’s high school like? Is it as cool as everybody says? Cause I can’t really see why it’d be that different from junior high.” Rocky shrugged, readjusting the knot of his belt. Bin hummed, tugging the shirt of his dobok on.

        “I don’t really see what the big deal is. People are a little bigger, a little more confident, but they’re just as lame as they were in junior high.” Bin said, hands tying his own belt by muscle memory. Rocky grinned and Bin’s heart twisted, but he smiled back, teasingly tugging at the V of Rocky’s dobok. Rocky whined, slapping at Bin’s hands before leading the way to the mats.

        “Are _you_ excited to get into high school? You’re less than a year away now, you know.” Bin asked while slipping on a body protector. Rocky crouched on the ground wrapping his feet, but stopped to look up for a minute with an indifferent look on his face.

        “I honestly don’t really care. I’m more interested in what I do outside of school, rather than what happens in school.” Bin laughed and shook his head as they walked to a corner of the gym.

        “Maybe that’s why you don’t have any friends _in_ school.” Rocky cried out indignantly before they bowed to each other and started their drills.

        About 40 minutes in they were both drenched in sweat, sitting off of the mat and trying to catch their breath before getting back to work. The pain of constantly blocking Rocky’s kicks was twinging up and down Bin’s back and he winced, trying to massage as deeply as he could into the tight muscle.

        “Why’s your shoulder been so irritated? You haven’t really been coming as much as you used to.” Rocky asked, watching Bin’s painful process. After a minute his face scrunched up and he turned to fully face Bin. “Actually, _why_ haven’t you been coming as much? I’m positive it has nothing to do with your studying, because I know for a fact you don't believe in studying. Are you not competing in the tournament coming up?” Bin flinched, head ducking away from Rocky’s piercing gaze.  

        “I’ve just been busy. And I don’t know if I’m going to compete, I don’t even know if I want to continue coming to taekwondo.” Bin shrugged, grabbing his arm when it flared up excruciatingly. Rocky gaped and started asking questions, but Bin couldn’t take it anymore. How are you supposed to explain to your best friend that you’ve somehow joined a gang and become the leader of it, when all you really wanted to do was let loose and get in a small fight. “Can we not talk about this any more? Lets get back on the mat.”

        While Bin believed more in the "go with the flow" attitude, Rocky did not. He wasn't one to let anything slide. Thankfully, Rocky eventually let it go but Bin got many probing texts over the next couple of days, and even more suspicious glances when he was actually at the dojang.

        On top of the guilt of potentially quitting taekwondo, Bin was _bad_ at keeping secrets. He knew that, but that certainly didn't stop him from trying to keep his newfound gang a secret from Rocky.

        Eventually, he became so wound up and irritated with himself from keeping his secret that he began looking for trouble. He’d go out by himself and try to get involved with people he knew were in other gangs, or people he knew were volatile enough they would fight back, which only built up the stress and strain on his sore shoulder.  

        Two upperclassmen brazenly asked him about his bad attitude once, even though he knew for a fact they were apart of the gang that he was in. The gang he was currently leading. When he brought that little fact up they both scoffed and rolled their eyes. Bin had no clue how to respond to that, so he decided to let it slide for the moment. When his shoulder started feeling better he would take care of any internal issues.

        The thought of internal problems confused Bin. He had thought everybody respected him and agreed to follow him after he beat the previous leader and any other challengers, but if these two tiny upperclassmen were trying to put together some sort of rebellion he knew he probably wouldn’t last with his bum shoulder.

        They didn't seem overly vicious, but they definitely rubbed Bin the wrong way with their suspicious looks and cryptic questions. Plus, they were both too short to be trustworthy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo... did I forget to mention that Eunwoo doesn't even show up until chapter 3? I promise! Next week you'll actually get to meet him.   
> Also, the beginning of this story has some of the WEIRDEST pacing I've ever seen, let alone written, so I apologize. I've been trying to fix it and rewrite the beginning for weeks but I've finally given up, so I hope it's to your satisfaction.  
> <3 Absey


	3. I Said I was Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin gets in a bit of trouble, Eunwoo makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boiiii!!! It's Eunwoo!  
> I hope y'all like it.

        Not even two days after the two upperclassmen came and questioned him about his bad attitude, the small time bully from earlier in the week, apparently named Minjun, came to confront Bin.

        “Hey! Moon Bin. I want my money back, and I _am not_ paying you any type of monthly fees.” He shouted, coming to a jerky stop in front of Bin. Bin who had previously been napping on a bench in the sun. A headache pounded at the base of Bin’s skull the longer the kid spoke, grating and throbbing in his head. With eyes barely cracked open he scowled up at Minjun.

        “Look _kid_ ,” Bin spat, temper short due to pain, “you made your choice, and I made mine. You can either continue to get robbed once a month, or you can gratefully give me a percentage of you income. You should be grateful I’m not stopping you from being a dick _permanently._ Now get out of my face before I bruise yours.” Minjun started talking again, loud and angry, but Bin was over it. He slowly climbed to his feet and stared down at Minjun, rubbing his knuckled to warm them up.

        “This is your last chance,” he growled, “ _get out of my face._ ” Minjun paused, cheeks ruddy and breathing labored.

        “I told you-” He started. Bin twisted and pushed his heel past the layers of fat and muscle before steadily connecting with the space right underneath the sternum. Minjun stumbled back a few steps, hands clutching for his chest as he tried to regain his breath. Bin waited to see if he would leave, staying balanced on the balls of his feet in preparation.

        Minjun shouted and charged at Bin, arms wide open in a pathetic attempt of a wrestling grip. Bin exhaled and let Minjun wrap his arms around Bin’s waist, but snorted at the sad attempt to push him over. He had made a rookie mistake of bringing his face too far past Bin's rib cage, so Bin was easily able to grab around Minjun's throat, leaning back to pull him off balance. Minjun gagged and fumbled with Bin's shirt, trying to find a steady hold in the worn fabric. 

        As Minjun struggled, Bin stepped back and twisted, slamming Minjun into the ground with his elbow. Minjun struggled, pinned by Bin's knee on his chest and forearm across his throat, only stopping when Bin continued to press into his throat. For good measure Bin leaned down, feeling the tension of Minjun's ribs bend and flex, nearly at their breaking point.

        “And _I_ told _you_ , get out of my face unless you want to get hurt.” Bin said nonchalantly, teeth gritting from the fire burning up and down the entire right side of his back. Without even looking back, Bin walked away leaving Minjun face up and frozen in the dirt for a second time.

 

        As soon as Minjun was out of sight Bin sunk to the ground, hissing in pain and carefully cradling his right arm. He leaned against the cool wall, letting it seep into the fire and tension burning under his skin. Each breath made his arm shift uncomfortably and he groaned, head dropping to rest on his knees.

        He didn’t know how long he sat there waiting for the pain to subside, but he definitely noticed when someone came out of the school and saw him sitting there with his right arm pressed carefully between his chest and knees and his left arm wrapped protectively around his legs. It was a pretty pathetic position to be found in.

        “Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone for you? Do you need an ambulance?” The guys voice was smooth, albeit stressed, and Moon Bin looked up with what he hoped was a placating smile. (Bin would never admit it, but his heart may have skipped a beat or two when he made eye contact with the other guy.) He had a tiny bit of baby fat creating soft cheeks, but the rest of his face was made of graceful lines, shiny brown hair topping off the picture perfect symmetrical face that would make anybody swoon.

        “I’m good, I’m just hanging out.” Bin said quietly, cheeks burning. He was probably covered in sweat and he knew his hair was a mess. Bin knew he was fairly okay-looking on a good day, but getting found by someone who was _so_ much more attractive than himself still hurt his ego.

        Not quite as bad as moving hurt his arm, but almost.

        The other guy paused for a minute before smiling back at Bin, and it upset Bin even more. Who was that perfect looking? Literally nobody. Stupid cute smile.

        “You don’t look okay. My name’s Dongmin, but people call me Eunwoo. Where do you hurt? I know some basic first aid, so I might be able to help.” He said quickly, bowing once in politeness. “If you want, of course.” Bin smiled once more, trying to seem as casual as possible. Apparently, as casual as possible meant slowly sliding one leg down and resting his left arm on his knee that was still close to his chest.

        “I promise, I really am fine. I was just taking a break for a minute. Thank you for your concern though!” Eunwoo watched him for a second and Bin tried not to move under the scrutiny, even though he could feel imaginary ants crawling all over his skin.

        When Eunwoo did move again, Bin was disappointed to see that it was closer to him, rather than in the opposite direction.

        Eunwoo bent down to be closer to eye-level with Bin, then with no warning, not-so-gently patted on Bin’s right shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uggghhhh, I hate the beginning of this. It feels so unnatural. I'm working to make it better, and it does get better! I promise.  
> Lemme know what you like, what you hate, what you want me to change, what you're favorite color is, if you think I should start taking requests, what your favorite Kpop group is. Anything you want to say, I'm here to read! (Even if I'm still real bad at responding to comments)  
> Also, should I start putting song recs on all of my stuff? I dunno how many people read all of them, but like, I love music, and I love fitting my writing with songs, so?  
> <3 Absey


	4. If We Don't Talk About It, It Never Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Eunwoo bent down to be closer to eye-level with Bin, then with no warning, not-so-gently patted on Bin’s right shoulder.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, and sorry that it's so long!

        Bin cried out, scrambling away while trying to carefully curl in on his arm. “What the _fuck_ was that for!” Bin screeched and Eunwoo smiled once more, though this time it was easy to see he felt guilty, which made Bin feel a tiny bit better.

        “Sorry! You just really look like you’re in pain, and I think that I can help.” Eunwoo said politely, gracefully kneeling down in front of Bin.

        “Is saying I’m in ‘pain’ a polite way of telling me I look like absolute shit?” Bin said wryly and Eunwoo gaped at him, clumsily trying to defend himself.

        The longer Eunwoo talked, the more Bin laughed at the desperate look on his face. “Whatever, I already know I do. And at the moment I’m down for any type of pain relief. Are you going to touch me again? Cause that _really_ fucking hurt.” Bin said, gingerly touching the tricep of his right arm.

        “Can I look at it? I’ll try to be as gentle as I can.” Eunwoo promised, holding his hands out carefully. Bin frowned and debated, before gently lifting his right arm into Eunwoo’s hands. Eunwoo started at his elbow and gently started feeling his way up Bin’s shoulder, hands burning against his skin. “You’re freezing cold! How long have you been sitting out here?” Eunwoo murmured to himself, twisting slightly so he could get a better view and feel of Bin’s right side.

        “Long enough to not be able to feel my butt.” Bin snorted. “Even though it’s sunny outside, it still feels like winter.” Eunwoo nodded, but seemed far more entranced in Bin’s arm. Bin eventually sat up and scooted forward slightly, so that Eunwoo could actually see and feel his tricep without awkwardly bending and twisting to reach it.

        Eunwoo hummed in gratitude and continued to gently feel around Bin’s shoulder and upper back, but Bin was mainly focused on reminding himself that Eunwoo was probably straight and saw nothing weird in spending a suspiciously long amount of time fondling another dude’s arm. (Even though Bin wished with all of his heart that Eunwoo was noticing how much effort he had put into his physical form)

        “Where does it hurt most?” Eunwoo asked quietly, gently touching along Bin’s shoulder blade.

        “Mostly, like, up?” Bin said, frowning. Eunwoo slowly felt up Bin’s back, and when his hands brushed right behind Bin’s collar bone, Bin gasped and shut his eyes. “ _There_. That’s where it hurts most.” He hissed through clenched teeth and Eunwoo immediately pulled his hands away.

        “Okay, well,” Eunwoo cleared his throat and Bin opened his eyes in surprise at the flustered sound, “do you work out? If so, you’ve probably either sprained or torn your shoulder slightly.”

        Bin let out a small “ah” and nodded, which made Eunwoo start nodding.

        “You’ve probably just overworked it, and haven’t given it a chance to rest. I suggest giving it a good couple of weeks to let it rest with no type of physical activity, keeping your shoulder elevated, and icing it in 20 minute intervals as often as you can.” Bin made another small noise and nodded, surprised at Eunwoo’s knowledge.

        “Wow. Are you training to become a doctor or something?” Eunwoo laughed and shook his head.

        “Or something. I’m working to become a lawyer. I just like having a solid base of education in many different fields. Especially medicine.” Bin ‘wow’-ed again and Eunwoo shook his head, a flush creeping up the back of his neck. He hesitated for a second and looked at Bin, who was still mostly leaning against the wall with his left side, a casual smile badly masking the actual pain he was feeling. “If you want, I might be able to give you a massage? It might make the pain more bearable till you get home and can properly ice it.”

        Bin knew he was hopeless, but there was no way he was turning down an offer to spend more time with Eunwoo, even though he hardly knew the guy. Plus, a free massage sounded really nice.

        Realistically, he knew he had no chance with Eunwoo due to the fact that he was probably straight or taken and if he wasn't, he was still  _way_ out of Bin's league. But that didn’t stop him from daydreaming.

        “Yes please! I would really appreciate that.” Bin laughed awkwardly. “The reason I’ve been sitting here so long is because it hurts to move.” Eunwoo winced and leaned back, hissing in sympathy of Bin’s pain.

        “Maybe I shouldn’t do a massage, this sounds like _way_ too serious of an injury for me to be messing with it.” Bin whined and pouted, trying to look as innocent as possible when he looked at Eunwoo and whispered, “please” really quietly and desperately.

        Eunwoo relented in seconds and Bin cheered, making Eunwoo glare at him.

        “Fine. But you have to tell me if anything _hurts_. Okay?” Bin nodded and did the Boy Scouts sign with his left hand, making Eunwoo sigh and shake his head. “Okay, I need to be behind you, so turn away from me.” Bin nodded and shifted obediently until he was facing the wall, giving Eunwoo full access to his back. Eunwoo shuffled around behind him, but Bin stubbornly stayed facing towards the rough brick wall in front of his eyes, no matter how bad he wanted to twist and see what Eunwoo was doing.

        Eunwoo shifted and settled into a comfortable position, causing Bin to feel the bump of his knees every once in a while.

        Eventually, Eunwoo gently set his hands around Bin’s shoulder, left hand resting above and closer to the neck, his right hand bracing below Bin’s armpit, fingers curling around his ribcage.

        At first, Eunwoo started with gently pressing with his thumbs only, and it had felt great. The tension of built up knots had started fading away under Eunwoo’s strong hands, and Bin’s eyes had slipped shut with his head lolling forward in contentment.

        Then he inched closer to Bin’s shoulder. Bin couldn’t help the surprised squeak that slipped out at the tight pinch and pressure deep in the muscle of his right shoulder. Eunwoo froze, but Bin cleared his throat and shook his head, trying to shake off the hurt to his ego from such an uncomposed sound slipping past his lips.

        “It’s okay, I promise. My shoulder _really_ hurts and your massage helps.” Eunwoo scoffed, but eventually continued, slowly pressing deeper into the bigger knots on the right side of Bin’s back.

        Unfortunately, Bin was never actually able to stop the embarrassing squeaks and gasps each time Eunwoo pressed into the strained muscle group. Bin thought the worst would be when Eunwoo hit a particularly sore spot on Bin’s shoulder and he couldn’t control the low inhale as his back arched into Eunwoo’s hands. There was definitely no straight explanation for that.

        The burning sensation of Bin’s blush up the back of his neck pretty much confirmed that Eunwoo could clearly see how flustered he was from the massage, so Bin resorted to gnawing on his left index knuckle to try and stop making noise. For a small amount of time it actually worked- much to Bin’s surprise.

        “Jeez, you have a lot of muscle.” Eunwoo huffed, shifted from his hands to his elbows to dig into and massage Bin’s shoulder. The sudden shift of pressure caused Moon Bin’s shoulder to slide up slightly, popping back into its proper place.

        The loss of pain was so great Bin _moaned_ at the feeling, head falling back in complete satisfaction. When Bin realized the guttural noise he had made, he immediately threw both of his hands over his mouth in embarrassment. That was, by far, the most embarrassing noise he could make in front of this boy he'd just barely met. He was also positive that by the time Eunwoo was done with his massage, Bin would have no semblance of an ego or pride left.

        To Bin’s immense joy, Eunwoo shuffled slightly but made no remark, continuing to gently massage around his sore shoulder.

        After a couple more seconds of massage, Eunwoo stopped and felt around Bin’s shoulder, making a satisfied noise.

        “I should probably stop now, or I might make it worse. Does it feel any better?” He asked, sliding away from Bin’s back. Bin was sure he was imagining the slight hoarse undertones of Eunwoo’s voice, chalking it up to the cold bite of the air.

        In slight disappointment Bin turned around to face Eunwoo, experimentally trying to raise his arm.

        “Hey! Don’t do that!” Eunwoo cried, grabbing Bin’s wrist and forcing his arm back down to his side. “You’re supposed to be _resting_ your arm, not testing out how bad it hurts when you push it.” Bin smiled guiltily.

        “Sorry. It feels _so much_ better now, though!” Eunwoo nodded awkwardly and slowly climbed to his feet, holding a hand out to help Bin up.

        Bin shook it off and stood up on his own, making Eunwoo raise an eyebrow. “Just because my arm hurts doesn’t mean that I’m completely helpless!”

        “Right, of course. My bad. Being totally helpless would probably be someone sitting against a wall for hours because it hurt too bad to move.” Eunwoo smirked and nodded. “Yeah, I’m positive _that’s_ what a completely helpless person would look like.” Bin stuck his tongue out like the mature teen that he was.

        “But really, thanks for helping me. My mom would probably worry if I didn’t get home soon.” Bin said quietly and Eunwoo nodded, another perfectly bright smile on his face.

        “It really was no trouble, I’m glad I could ease your pain a little.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 Absey


	5. Parting for the Blink of an Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! Honestly, this is mainly just filler. Next chapter is back on plot

        And with that, they parted ways for nearly three years. 

        In those three years, a lot happened.

        Bin fought with Rocky, left the gang, reconciled with Rocky, learned Rocky joined a dance team, and joined the same dance team all before he even spoke to Eunwoo again. 

        Even with the long time gap, Bin’s crush never faded. Every once in a while Bin would see Eunwoo in the hallway and they would nod to each other, then Bin would immediately turn to Rocky and start stressing about whether or not he had done something wrong or embarrassing. 

        The weirdest part of all three years was MJ and Jin Jin. During his first year, they continued to approach him in the gang- which he normally wouldn’t care about -but they seemed to know  _ far _ too much about Eunwoo and Bin’s weird attachment to Eunwoo. 

        For an entire week MJ greeted Bin with, “did you know Eunwoo is really rich? I bet we could easily get  _ a ton _ of money out of him.” And every single morning it was accompanied with the same evil smile. 

        After days of MJ’s (not-so) subtle hints about hitting up Eunwoo, the rest of the boys started getting interested, which led to an awkward and completely made up speech about how “Eunwoo was too high up and had too many connections. If they messed with him they would end up messing with the entire school. It was safer if they just kept their distance, and did their best to keep the entire gang a secret from Eunwoo.” 

        The rest of the boys accepted his answer, except for, of course, MJ. And now he had gotten Jin Jin to go along with it. They constantly asked about why they should avoid the 3rd highest ranked student, rather than the 1st highest ranked student, which then turned into Moon Bin accidentally admitting to the pair that he had a massive crush on Eunwoo. 

        While the pair may have been obnoxious, crazy, loud, and all around annoying, they were probably two of the best people in the gang and to Bin’s surprise, they actually kept his secret. 

        That wasn’t without it’s cost though. 

        Every day they would ask when he was going to approach Eunwoo, give their best pick up lines, repeatedly tell the story of how they started dating, and mercilessly tease Moon Bin every time they saw Eunwoo. Bin was positive that neither of them were actually enrolled in any classes and devoted all of their time to torturing Bin.

        The next year, when Bin had left the gang, they surprisingly did too. That didn’t mean they left Bin alone. 

        Oh no, it was the exact opposite. 

        Bin found out when he joined the dance team that Jin Jin and Rocky had become friends, and Bin had no chance of escaping the pair that looked and acted like they belonged in elementary school. 

        Of course, Bin got his revenge. He was just as good at being annoying, and quickly found ways to press all of their buttons and give them a taste of their own medicine, while fulfilling his desire to get constant attention.

        It had been a rough day when they graduated and announced they were leaving for college in another district. 

 

        The next time Eunwoo and Bin spoke was at the very end of their second year. 

        They happened to bump into each other during a free hour and Eunwoo asked about Bin’s shoulder, which led to Bin lying and saying that he hadn’t had any problems with it since Eunwoo’s massage. Then Bin asked about Eunwoo’s courses to become a lawyer, and Eunwoo lied about enjoying all of the tests and pressure that he was under. 

        After a polite, “we should catch up again sometime” they parted ways, faces flushed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 Absey


	6. Let's Go Meet the "Sanha"

        It was Bin’s last year in high school, and he was determined to have a good time. 

        Sure, the emphasis probably should’ve been put more on his grades and his test scores, but he was so far past caring. The transition from dancing on the side to dancing full time was surprisingly easy for both Bin and Rocky, and they thrived off of the energy and passion of the other dancers when they competed, becoming an unbeatable contemporary/hip-hop duo, which quickly became Bin’s priority.

        Sadly, Bin’s past continued to haunt him. 

        It was no secret he had led the gang his first year, and it was no secret how attached he was to Rocky, so when the gang (now led by Ki and Bo) started approaching Rocky, Bin could feel his blood boil. He began to stubbornly walk Rocky to and from school when Rocky started getting beat up, repeatedly reminding Rocky that he should defend himself. 

        When Rocky showed up to the dance room one day clutching his ribs and breathing shallowly, Bin snapped. He wouldn’t let Rocky go anywhere without him, and repeatedly beat his previous gang members inches within their life when they came close to Rocky. 

 

        And yet, life had a funny way of screwing with Bin. The one day Bin  _ did  _ miss school, everything started looking up for both him and Rocky. 

        He had a horrible cold and when Rocky showed up to his house, he wrinkled his nose in disgust at Bin’s sweaty and feverish appearance before slamming Bin’s house door on his face and shouting that Bin had no choice but to stay home. Bin hadn’t thought he looked  _ that _ bad, but Rocky had already left and Bin was always up for missing school so he crawled back into bed and went right back to bed.

        When Rocky came back to Bin’s house after school, Bin was surprised to see that he wasn’t beat up. He also couldn’t believe when Rocky told him an in-detail story about an adorable and gorgeous underclassmen coming and telling the new gang leader off. 

        Bin had never actually seen Rocky interested in another person, so the sparkle to his eyes and the glow of his face when he told his story made Bin’s heart swell in happiness, but also suspicious.

        “I want to meet him.” Bin frowned, throat still hoarse. Rocky squawked and chucked a pillow at Bin’s head.

        “No way! I don’t even know his name. That’s so embarrassing, there’s no way I’m bringing you anywhere near him.” His nose wrinkled in embarassment, and Bin whined in response, throwing the pillow back at Rocky and nailing him in the face.

        “I’ll say I’m thanking him or something, I don’t care. I want to meet him.” Rocky stared at him, and he stared back. They had come to an impasse. 

        “Don’t you  _ want _ to know his name? I could figure that out for you!” Bin huffed and Rocky hesitated, a thoughtful look crossing his face. 

        Bin grinned, he had won.

        “Fine. Whatever. Just try not to look like an idiot.” Rocky paused. “Actually, that’s impossible, try to not make  _ me _ look like an idiot.” Bin pouted and snuffled sadly at Rocky.

        “That’s so mean. I could be dying and your last words to me would be an insult.”

        “You’re such a fuckin’ baby. Suck it up.”

        “I can feel it. I’m dying,” Bin tilted back slowly, “I’m dying,” he flopped against his pillows and made a pitiful wheezing noise, “I’m dead.” 

        Rocky pretended to hold a funeral, saying many sad things about how lame it was Bin died so young, how he had done literally nothing in life and deserved so much more, how he had only ever loved one boy who he met for five seconds and was way out of his league, then finished with a fake sob and an attempt at smothering Bin with a pillow under the pretense of “burying” him.

 

        Two days later and Rocky deemed Bin healthy enough to meet Sanha. Bin had no clue about how Rocky had learned Sanha’s name, but wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. 

        He became even more suspicious when Rocky almost seemed eager to show Bin where Sanha ate.

 

        It all made sense when he saw Eunwoo, sitting directly across from a noodle-like baby who could only be Sanha. 

 

        Bin turned to bail and take Rocky with him, freezing when he noticed that Eunwoo was staring directly at him.  Rocky snorted at something Sanha said to Eunwoo that Bin didn’t quite catch (he was too busy staring at Eunwoo). 

        “You gonna go meet Sanha?” Rocky said, a smug smile adorning his face.

        “You deserve at least one solid punch in the teeth.” Bin hissed and Rocky frowned, somehow managing to make it look patronizing.

        “Now, now, Bin. I thought you had left your violence in the past.” He snickered before discreetly kicking at Bin’s heels and nudging him closer to the pair. 

        At that Sanha turned around and made direct eye contact with Rocky. He then shifted and looked to Bin, face and neck going from a bright cherry red color to the pale white of a new piece of paper in an impressive and almost chameleon-like color change. 

        He opened his mouth but didn’t make a noise, so Bin interrupted with a polite smile. “Would you guys mind if we sat here for a moment?” Sanha relaxed slightly and nodded, hurriedly shoving his stuff out of the way and off the table.

        Lunch started awkwardly, but by the end of it Bin could see himself becoming closer friends with both Sanha and Eunwoo (no matter how much the prospect of that made his stomach flutter).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sort of skimming over this part of the story because I wrote it a little more in depth in the first instillation of this series - Leather and Lace - so if it seems weird, that's why   
> <3 Absey


	7. I Only Stretched the Truth a Little

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is...? Goofy. A goofy story.  
> Sorry it's so short

        About two and a half weeks of Moon Bin and Rocky hanging out with Eunwoo and Sanha at lunch and Eunwoo finally started to ask Moon Bin about his past.

        “You don’t really seem like the “gang type” to me.” Eunwoo frowned and Moon Bin shrugged, stuffing a big bite of food in his mouth.

        “I was an angry kid. I needed an outlet, which then somehow turned into me leading a gang.” Bin paused, cheeks full as he chewed thoughtfully. “I don’t actually know how that happened. It was pretty weird. And besides, I wasn’t even in the gang for very long.”

        “You certainly didn’t seem that angry when I met you.” Eunwoo hummed, taking almost as big of a bite of food as Moon Bin did. The massage experience moved to the forefront of Bin’s memory and he flushed, wishing he couldn’t remember so clearly all of the embarrassing noises he’d made.

        “Yeah, well, you met me when I had a _seriously_ fucked up shoulder.” Bin shrugged, rubbing at his neck and trying to dispel some of the stubborn heat trapped under his skin. “That would take the fight out of pretty much any one.”

        “I suppose that makes sense.” Eunwoo started nodding and accepting Bin’s answer when Rocky cut in, tapping Sanha’s arm while he spoke with a sinister grin.

        “Bin has no problem being angry with his garbage shoulder.” Rocky’s eyes were innocently wide, but Bin _knew_ he could see the death glares he was throwing his way. “It’s hurt probably every other month. Actually,” Rocky paused and made direct eye contact with Bin, smug smirk frozen on his mouth, “I doubt it’s ever fully healed from that first year of high school.” Eunwoo frowned and looked back to Bin, head tilting in confusion.

        “I thought- you said when we talked -that you were fine?” Bin laughed and waved his hands in front of his face, an appeasing smile over exaggerated. In response, Eunwoo tugged his hands through his hair and gnawed on his bottom lip. “What if _I’m_ the one who screwed up your shoulder? That stupid,” Eunwoo winced, “ _stupid_ massage.” As soon as the words left Eunwoo’s mouth Bin spun on Rocky, doing his best to throw “I-will-actually-kill-you-if-you-say-anything” vibes at Rocky with his eyes, but with the way that Rocky's smug grin and cocky position flipped to an upright and open mouthed 'oh' position, Bin knew he wouldn’t be getting let off so easily.

        At times Bin really hated his best friend.

        “Damn, I think you might be right.” Rocky said, eyes comically wide when Eunwoo spun on him frantically. “That _was_ around the time his shoulder started getting really bad, Bin just didn’t feel like he could talk to you about it.” Eunwoo looked back at Bin anxiously as Rocky nodded solemnly, mouth hidden behind his hand.

        “Holy crap. I’m so sorry!” Eunwoo said, speaking fast enough that his words started slurring together. “I could’ve paid for you to go to an actual physical therapist or something. I feel _so_ bad! Why didn’t you tell me? I have to try and fix this, I feel so bad, I'm so sorry.” Outside of Eunwoo’s field of vision Rocky winked and Bin kicked at Rocky’s shin, doing his best to interrupt Eunwoo and calm him down.

        “You know?” Rocky interrupted loudly and Eunwoo turned, his full attention focused on Rocky. Bin took the opportunity to kick at Rocky’s shin hard enough to leave bruises but Rocky continued on, confident smile undeterred in the slightest. “I bet all you would have to do to make him feel better is feed him.” Eunwoo looked suspicious, but Rocky leaned back and spread his arms as if to say, _I’m serious. It’s really true._ “Bin is absolutely _obsessed_ with food and he’d love food so much more than any type of massage or physical therapist. He’s pretty much gotten past his shoulder problem.”

        Eunwoo nodded, officially on board with Rocky’s totally wack story. “Just take him out for lunch or dinner sometime and he would totally forget you might’ve been the one who caused him _years_ of excruciating shoulder pain.” Sanha snorted under his breath but Eunwoo turned to Bin, a calm and resolved look on his face.

        “I’ll do it. Bin, whenever you want to eat I will take you to the closest restaurant and feed you. How does Friday at 6 pm sound? I’ll pay for everything.” Bin whined under his breath and turned to Rocky for help, only to find him snickering with Sanha as they watched his internal predicament.

 _Technically_ , Rocky’s story wasn’t true, but Bin also _really_ didn’t want to pass by the chance of going out to dinner with Eunwoo alone, because he was pathetic and lonely.

        So, even though Bin was already planning on how he was going to get back at Rocky, he smiled at Eunwoo and nodded, writing down his number on the piece of paper Eunwoo offered him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally getting into the chapters that I'm excited for!  
> <3 Absey


	8. First Date or Totally Platonic Meeting?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad for taking so long to update this fic!!! But I'm back and hoping to have it finished really really soon.  
> Thanks for reading!

        Was Bin potentially the _worst_ person in the world for going along with Rocky’s story? Maybe. Did Eunwoo look heart stopping in his casual outfit outside of the restaurant? Absolutely. Did Bin feel horrible and sweaty and nervous as he walked up to meet Eunwoo? Also yes. Was Bin debating calling in sick and cancelling right in front of Eunwoo? Most definitely.

        Eunwoo had texted him Friday after school, asking if Bin would be alright meeting up in front of this restaurant later that night. After way too long of trying to find the right words, Bin responded with a quick, ‘sounds great!’.

        Now, Bin regretted agreeing. Eunwoo was wearing black slacks and a loose, soft pink button up shirt, hair pushed up off of his forehead, casually leaning against the wall. When he caught Bin’s eye he flashed a bright smile, walking to greet him by the door.

        “Jeez, you make me feel underdressed.” Bin whined, making Eunwoo snicker. While Bin laughed along, he wasn’t lying. He didn’t really have fancy clothes, so he decided on a pair of tight, dark blue jeans and a plain white tank top with his favorite leather jacket. Eunwoo looked him up and down for a second before shaking his head.

        “Trust me, you look fine. Even better than fine.” Eunwoo assured, gently reaching out and touching Bin’s shoulder. Bin grinned and let Eunwoo lead him into the restaurant, chest puffing slightly in pride.

        They got seated quickly, Eunwoo’s reservation leading them to a small booth in the back of the dim area. Bin didn’t have a bad childhood, but his parents weren’t willing to take Bin out to eat because of how much money they spent on his taekwondo and dance, so Bin curiously inspected the area.

        When he finished looking over all of the weird looking paintings and fancy lighting fixtures he looked back to Eunwoo, only to find him already staring at Bin.

        “Do you not come to restaurants often?” Eunwoo’s chin was resting on his hand as he stared at Bin, other hand drawing random patterns on the table. Bin’s stomach fluttered the longer Eunwoo stared at him, beautiful eyes hidden behind an intimidating stare.

        “Not really, nobody to go with.” Bin laughed, fingers toying at the frayed edge of the unopened menu in front of him. Eunwoo’s head tilted slightly.

        “ _How_ do you not have a girlfriend? Girls are practically always flirting with you.” He whispered and Bin flinched, unable to stop an awkward smile from taking over his entire face.

        “That may or may not have a little bit to do with the fact that I’m gay.” Bin waited with baited breath as Eunwoo processed. Bin knew Eunwoo couldn’t be super homophobic because he definitely was invested in the growing romance between Sanha and Rocky. Or at least Bin thought he was. The longer he thought about it, the more unsure Bin was and the more Bin wished he could retract his statement. Normally he was more secretive about his orientation. Now Bin felt like an absolute idiot.

        Finally (after maybe 3 seconds of quiet), Eunwoo’s face broke into a bright open-mouthed grin as he leaned back.

        “Ah, I see. A heartbreaker then.” Bin snorted and rolled his eyes, flipping the menu open, just so he had a reason to look away from Eunwoo.

        “As if.”

        Eunwoo quieted down flipped open his menu, eyes scanning the menu at a fast enough pace that Bin knew he wasn’t actually reading anything.

        “Then are you still taken? Are you and Rocky-?” Eunwoo hesitated, hands turning white on either side of the menu.

        “What? Together? _Hell no._ ” Bin couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of being anything more than friends with Rocky.

        “But you two seem so close! You have to have heard some of the rumors? Especially with all the ‘gang’ stuff.” Eunwoo paused for a minute, leaning forward. “Which _apparently_ is like, huge, news that I’ve literally heard nothing about. What happened in that first year of your high school?” Eunwoo shook his head, an amused smile on his face. Bin laughed through gritted teeth, burying his face in his hands.

        “It’s awkward having to acknowledge the rumors, but yeah.” Bin grimaced. “We’ve heard whispers of them around the school.” Eunwoo nodded understandingly and Bin couldn’t help but smile back. “Rocky really is my best friend though.”

        “So what happened during your first years of high school, then? How did you two handle the gang? When Rocky talked about it he didn’t seem mad, but he also didn’t seem super supportive of it.” Bin laughed loudly, drawing a few people’s attention to their small booth. Eunwoo glanced at nervously but took a deep breath, turning to focus completely on Bin’s face.

        “Rocky’s pretty much a pest. He gets irritated all the time and is so _unbelievably_ childish with the patience of a gnat, but I remember,” Bin paused, smile dropping for a minute, “when he found out about my gang. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen him so angry. It really put a lot into perspective for me. Made me rethink some of my choices. But yeah, trust me,” Bin snorted, shaking his head, “it has taken a long time for him to be okay and willing to tease me about it.”

        “It’s clear that you two have a strong friendship.” Bin smiled and nodded, but inside he shriveled. This may be Bin’s only chance at some semblance of a date with Eunwoo and he started it off by blabbing on and on about his best friend and “troubled” past. Smooth. Real smooth.  

        “What about you? How has your high school experience been so far?” Eunwoo’s face dropped.

        “It’s been… an adventure. I’m ready for it to be over.” Eunwoo’s perfect facade cracked slightly as he tried to smile and Bin felt even worse.

        As Bin was opening his mouth to try and fix what he said, the waiter showed up, ready to take their drink orders.

        “So, back on the topic of restaurants, do you have somebody to go to restaurants with?” Bin asked cheekily, after the waiter left, mouth pulled into a teasing grin. Eunwoo flushed, eyes glued to his menu with a small smile.

        “No, it’s just me.”

        The rest of the meal was fantastic. The food was delicious, Bin was able to order two entrees, Eunwoo laughed at all the dumb jokes he made, and they sat and talked at that table for an entire hour. Bin didn’t even make any more stupid mistakes that made Eunwoo uncomfortable, which he counted as a major win.

        “I think I could stay here forever. I’m so happy.” Bin relaxed into the booth with a sigh, warmth spreading from head to toe. Eunwoo repeated a slightly smaller sigh, head falling against the back of the booth.

        “I’m so full. I don’t think I’ll need to eat until, at least, tomorrow.” Bin sat up in shock, making Eunwoo look down at him slightly in confusion.

        “How are you full? I could still eat!”

        “How? I mean, I thought _I_ ate a lot.”

        “Oh please. _Nobody_ eats more than me.”

        It was comfortable. So comfortable. Bin relished in the way his skin felt warm and his shoulder was still tingling from the beginning of their meal when Eunwoo let his hand rest for a little longer than normal on his shoulder. The restaurant stayed loud and bustling but they were safe in their dark booth, only needing the way they grinned at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move to leave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 Absey


	9. It Sounded like a Good Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh my gosh. At this point, I'm sorry, but you just have to start expecting years in between updates.  
> We're almost to the climax of the story and if everything goes well, there should only be 4 or 5 more chapters till the end!

        Together Bin and Eunwoo built a steady routine. Every Friday night for the next two months they would meet up together and try some new restaurants, ranging from extremely high end to absolute dumps that had absolutely not passed the health code.

        And yet, the entire time Bin had no idea if they were hanging out as friends or as something more than friends. He couldn’t tell if he was too caught up in his head to notice their friendship growing into something more, or if he was still just a daydreaming mess. 

        Either way, it took almost no time for Bin to spill all of his thoughts and stories to Eunwoo and his trusting smile. Sometimes at night Bin would worry about whether or not Eunwoo actually cared about him at all, or if he was somehow going to use all of the embarrassing things Bin had told him against Bin. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried to break him down that way.

        What scared him was the fact that he was so suspicious but never considered trying to stay away from Eunwoo. He found himself suggesting new ways for them to hang out, so they started going to the library together every day after school to study. Which only made Bin tell Eunwoo more about himself.

        So, for their next Friday meeting, Bin came up with a plan. He was going to do his best to keep the conversation centered on Eunwoo the entire time. He'd been trying to do this since pretty much day one, but now the word 'plan' was attached and everything felt more serious. 

        When time for dinner came around, Bin tried. He tried his absolute best. He asked interesting questions, gave all his attention to Eunwoo, smiled as often as he could, did everything he could to seem reassuring. And yet. Everything stayed the same. A friendly smile away from a meaningful friendship. 

        Bin still knew as little about Eunwoo as he did on their first dinner meeting. 

        This could only mean one thing in Bin’s head. Eunwoo wasn’t invested in their friendship at all, which meant there was no chance he would be interested in a relationship of any kind. And that hurt. It _really_ hurt. 

        “And you’re sure you’re not overthinking it?” Rocky asked one day at dance as they stretched, listening to Bin whine about it for at least the fourth time that day. “Maybe Eunwoo’s just a private person, which isn’t all that surprising.” Bin shook his head. He knew it was different.

        “No, see, someone like MJ is private. You’re quiet and keep to yourself, but after enough time spent together you open up and become your weird and normal self.” Bin groaned. “Eunwoo is different. He doesn’t even tell me a little bit about himself. It’s like some twisted mystery or game with him, and I hate it.”

        “Then it sounds like you should break it off. Stop trying to be friends with someone who doesn’t seem to like you at all.” Rocky huffed, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure Eunwoo has absolutely no interest in getting to know you. He’s only spent _hundreds_ of dollars on food for you, even after learning that my story was complete bullshit.”

        “You think I should? Maybe I will. I’ll cancel on our dinner and see what he does.” Bin mumbled, mind whirring. When he looked up, Rocky was gaping at him, brows furrowed.

        “Are you kidding me?”

        “What? Isn’t that what you were suggesting? It sounds like a good idea to me!”

        “No! No, that is _not_ what I was suggesting. I was hoping you would pick up on my subtle attempts at humor.” Rocky deadpanned, head dropping to his hands. “Why can’t you just ask him about it?” Bin’s mouth curled in disgust.

        “I’d rather not. I’ll stick with my plan.”

 

        Bin realised it’s hard to avoid Eunwoo. He hadn’t noticed it before, but they spent a lot of time together, both in school and outside of school. Between lunch, their shared class, and all the time Eunwoo spent with Bin at dance and Bin spent with Eunwoo helping him study, Bin had a problem.

        A big problem. He was running out of excuses. He had already used, “Rocky needs emotional support, I can’t show up”, “my cat’s sick, I can’t go”, “my little sister needs help with homework, maybe later”, “I have a lot of homework to do, I promise I’m not avoiding you”, and there was only so much he could lie about over text without feeling like a completely despicable person. 

        “Shouldn’t the fact he’s still trying say something about it to you?” Rocky groaned, head resting on the lunch table. Bin had pulled Rocky away from Sanha for an emergency meeting, which turned into more stressed monologuing. “I still don’t get _why_ you can’t talk to him about it. You’re starting to act like kind of a bitch.” 

        “No. No, no, no. I’m sure he wants something from me. That’s the only reason why he cares now.” Bin huffed, tugging at his hair. He chose to ignore Rocky’s scathing glare, in favor for staring at the table in front of his eyes.

        “ _What. Could. He. Possibly. Want. From. You?_ ” Rocky said pointedly, sitting up and staring directly at Bin. “You’re a failed gang member who’s barely staying in school with nothing special to your name and no remarkable skills that are taking you places, except for your dancing. And let’s face it, a dancer will never be the most reliable person. They’ll never be _close_ to the most reliable. So tell me, what does Eunwoo, a kid with perfect grades, great connections, and endless opportunities, want with you?”

        “I don’t know, maybe he-”

        “No.”

        “You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

        “I don’t care. You’re wrong.” Rocky paused, debating for a moment. “Tell you what, I’ll admit I’m wrong, I’ll even do whatever you want me to for two entire days, _if_ you go talk to Eunwoo before the end of this week.” Bin opened his mouth to decline, then to agree. It was a tempting offer. Bin could get Rocky to make him food. Or do his homework. Or pay for him to eat out. But Bin didn’t want to have to talk to Eunwoo and potentially admit that he really had been acting like an asshole for over half of a week now. That would just be embarrassing.

        Sadly, the opportunity to get Rocky to do whatever for two _entire_ days ended up winning and Bin agreed to talk to Eunwoo in the next two days (and it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Bin was dying to talk to Eunwoo again, even if he was in the wrong). 

 

        With Rocky it had seemed like such an easy task. He knew what he would say, how he would act, and how he would react to whatever Eunwoo said. Except, as soon as Rocky walked away Bin was left high and dry, anxiously tapping his phone against his leg as he tried to write any semblance of a text to Eunwoo. He had never been more frustrated. 

 

        Just when Bin was ready to give up completely, Eunwoo solved his problem once more. This time in front of his house at 10 o’clock at night in the pouring rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! (Even with the weird characterization of everybody)  
> <3 Absey


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